Category: American Theatre Wing

During LGBT Pride Month, I was pleased to welcome Rochester native Nicolette Hart to Stage Notes. She’s a Broadway superstar, a backup vocalist for Bette Midler, and one of the most talented triple threats I know. My full interview with her, including songs, is available below.

Lin-Manuel Miranda won the award for Best Score for Hamilton, and in lieu of a traditional speech, he delivered a poem about love for his wife and the need for love in the wake of tragedy, no doubt responding to the horrific mass shooting in Orlando. By the end, he was in tears, and the crowd was cheering. Following is the transcript:

“My wife’s the reason anything gets done. She nudges me towards promise by degrees. She is a perfect symphony of one. Our son is her most beautiful reprise. We chase the melodies that seem to find us. Until they’re finished songs and start to play. When senseless acts of tragedy remind us. That nothing here is promised, not one day This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall, and light from dying embers. Remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love; Cannot be killed or swept aside. I sing Vanessa’s symphony; Eliza tells her story. Now fill the world with music, love, and pride.”

Join Host Robert Hammond (full program below) as he examines how religion influences musical theatre. The Book of Mormon is one of Broadway’s biggest box-office hits – recently there have been revivals of Christian-themed musicals — Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. The revival of the revival of the revival (well, you get the picture!) of Les Miserables is still open on the Great White Way! The current revival closes in September. Among others, Fiddler on the Roof and Spring Awakening are steeped with religious undertones. It’s probably fair to say that the theater has seen the way of the Lord. Has someone been putting sacrament in the water? Or have playwrights just gotten in touch with their devout or devoutly satirical sides?

In tribute to David Bowie, host Robert Hammond aired Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Bowie. Conducted by Eugene Ormandy and performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, this classical composition was originally released in 1978. Hammond aired the 1992 remastered version in its entirety on Stage Notes the week of January 10, 2016. The entire program now available on demand below.

It seems Like Stage Notes began airing on WXXI FM 91.5 yesterday – October 24th marked its sixth anniversary. Although it airs elsewhere throughout the country, WXXI was the first station that gave it the green light.

Thank you for listening and supporting the program. Below is a link to the full anniversary program that aired. It featured many special guests, including Norm Silverstein, Sue Rogers, Elissa Orlando, Ruth Phinney, and Julia Figueras. NPR’s Ari Shapiro was kind enough to join the celebration. Thank you, Ari!

Please Follow Stage Notes on Twitter @stagenotes, and be sure to like our page on Facebook. Again, thank you. Enjoy!

The talented and beautiful Megan Hilty joined host Robert Hammond on Stage Notes to discuss her Broadway and television career, as well as her performances with orchestras throughout the country, including the Rochester Pops on Friday & Saturday, September 11 &12 at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Music from her CD, It Happens All the Time, and Smash are featured. Songs from Broadway shows on tour are also showcased throughout the program. Click below to listen.

In a few short years, Megan Hilty has gone from understudy on Broadway to a star of stage, screen, and music. Her impressive accomplishments have made her one of the fastest rising talents in the entertainment world.

Megan was born in Bellevue, Washington on March 29, 1981. Drawn to music at a young age, she explored a career in opera before deciding to pursue musical theatre. After graduating from the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond, Washington, she moved to Southern Oregon and spent two years waiting tables and working odd jobs while performing in shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Hello Dolly!, and My Fair Lady. She then enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she performed in a variety of college and regional productions. She graduated from CMU in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre.

Upon graduation, Megan was offered the role of “Glinda” standby for the Broadway company of Wicked. She made her Broadway debut in the fall of 2004 opposite Tony winner Idina Menzel, and was asked to take over as principal Glinda in May 2005. After a year on Broadway, Megan performed the role on tour and in the 2007-2009 Los Angeles production.

During her years with Wicked, Megan was workshopping the role of “Doralee” in 9 to 5: The Musical, Dolly Parton’s adaptation of the popular film. In 2009, Megan starred in the show on Broadway alongside Allison Janney and Stephanie J. Block. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Drama League Award, and an Ovation Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

During this time period, Megan made guest appearances on many television shows, including Bones, The Closer, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty, while also providing the singing voice for Snow White in Shrek the Third. She also made concert appearances around the U.S. in the Meg an’ Sho Show (alongside Shoshana Bean) and with a solo cabaret show called Megan Hilty Sings the Blondes.

In 2011, Megan joined the cast of NBC’s Smash as “Ivy Lynn,” an actress who is desperate to land the lead in a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker said of her work: “Hilty has built a character who feels like a real Broadway diva: sexy, funny, ambitious, insecure, at once selfish and giving.” The show aired from 2012-2013 and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Outstanding Musical or Comedy Series, while also offering Megan the opportunity to record both covers of popular hits and original songs from the musical within the show, “Bombshell.”

During her hiatus between Smash‘s first and second seasons, Megan starred in the New York City Center production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as Lorelai Lee, a role made famous by Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe. Megan received rave reviews for both the production and its cast recording. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called the opening performance “…one of those single, golden nights, so cherished by theatergoers, that thrust its leading lady into the firmament of musical stardom.”

In 2013, Megan released It Happens All the Time, her first solo album with Portrait (an imprint of Sony Masterworks), and also made her Carnegie Hall debut. Megan also returned to TV with NBC’s Sean Saves the World starring Sean Hayes.

Megan currently makes frequent concert appearances, both with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and in solo concert at smaller venues. She also regularly performs in a variety of special events, such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or Christmas in Washington. Megan maintains an active voiceover career, providing the voice of “Rosetta” in the Disney Fairies series and the “China Doll Princess” in the animated feature Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.

Megan and her husband, Brian Gallagher, were married in November 2013. Their first daughter, Viola, was born in September 2014.